The aim of this pilot project is to explore how might speculative design enable citizens and governments in developing countries engage in policy agenda setting on aging well in the city.

This project is a collaboration between Lancaster University (UK), Sunway University (Malaysia) and the United Nations University (Malaysia).

Like other developed and developing countries globally, Malaysia faces the challenges of supporting an ageing population. The World Health Organization (2015) has been critical of the approaches adopted internationally thus far and has argued that “more of the same will not be enough” and “with the right policies and services in place, population ageing can be viewed as a rich new opportunity for both individuals and societies”.

The seed-corn funding will enable research project team members to work collaboratively with other key stakeholders from Malaysia and the region, pilot test the speculative design approach in this context, and develop a further proposal for a longer-term and geographically wider-reaching project.